Scar Tissue
by Ian-the-Lame
Summary: Everyday he gazes up at the world beyond his watery realm. Every night her cries fall silent against the waves that crash into the cliffs. Sure there must be something more to life than this living hell. Merman!AU Mental Illness Kwami Swap.
1. Chapter 1

**_So I couldn't decide what to do with this story. Kwami swap, Mermaid Au, or Mental Illness so I asked my girlfriend and she said_** _"Just do all three" **then hooked me up with someone who helped me to write this a little**_ ** _(_** _Rose_doodle **for those of you on AO3).**_

 _ **Now the train wreck starts.**_

 _ **My apologies for butchering this poor poor love square.**_

 _ **Disclaimer - If I owned it, it would be call Miraculous Chat Noir for far more reasons I care to go into right now.**_

 _ **P.S. I'm not sure where this takes place as of yet, but I'm (more than) pretty sure that Paris isn't on the sea so just work with me here.**_

 _ **SK**_

 _Scar Tissue_

The sky beyond the sea, shimmering and bright, was something that one Adrien Agreste longed to see with his own two eyes. The wind running through his golden hair, and the smell of salt no longer filling his nose. The world above his was a brilliant, bright blue, similar yet so different from his green tinted home. Above the water was, the lightly colored sky with the warmth of the shining sun called to him. Everything in his being wanted to reach up and simply stick a hand above the calm waves. But he shook his mind free of the idea.

His father, King Gabriel Agreste, would never allow his son to do something so foolish. He had stated it quiet clearly that no one was to leave the sea and enter the realm of the land anymore. Adrien wasn't really sure why his father hated the upper world, but he knew that if he disobeyed he would be punished harshly. And try as he might to talk to the king, he was firmly pushed away.

Adrien looked up with sad green eyes. The surface was literally within his grasp, and he couldn't bring himself to actually do anything. If he were to reach a little higher, spread his fingers a little more then the tips of his fingers would brush the surface, and maybe peek out of water if a low wave swept the water away just enough. If he were to do that then the tips of his fingers would be the only part of him that could feel the breeze of the drafty September sea. They would also be the only part of him that has ever disobeyed his father's wishes and the only part of him that would ever leave the sea. He could feel the warmth that most humans do, when the sun scorched them (although he had heard that it only happened when they stayed out in the light for too long). But his fingers curled, arm lowered, and green tail, that matched his eyes, flicked in annoyance.

He could never leave the sea. Even if he did where would he go? His tail wouldn't dry into legs like the fairy tales. He would be stranded. And not to mention he wouldn't be able to stay for long. Sure mermaids had lungs, but they were weak, as his gills did most of the work for him. He had never tried to breath above his blue prison, but from the rumors he had heard, from before his father's crazed laws were in place, that the human's air was polluted and hard to breath.

"I want-" He said, looking back up. But he couldn't finish. It didn't matter what he wanted. He had to be the perfect prince.

His green orbs looked down. His city, which he had barely escaped from, was just a little while away hidden by the coral reef. It was an overbearing city that more like a prison than a home. a prison that no matter how far he ran, he could never truly be free from. He hated it. But the people of his city needed him.

His eyes feel on something that shined a bright red. It wasn't covered by sand, but there were no fishing boats passing by. Adrien wouldn't have come to this place if he thought that a human would accidentally find him.

But humans were weak-minded creatures that believed that they, and only they, lived on the planet. They couldn't open their eyes and see beyond the Veil. Naturally there were all sorts of monsters that walked among the humans that were never seen or discovered.

But humans weren't what occupied his mind. It was the flickering shimmer of his newest discovery. But one red dot turned into two as he let himself lower to the rich golden sand without flicking his tail. Two little sparkles that had captivated him completely.

They were placed in a tiny black box that had fallen into the ocean opened. On the silky velvet two small earrings sat, like pearls in an oyster.

"How remarkable." He mumbled to himself, scooping up the box. The earrings (he had seen some of the female around the city wearing them) were simple round studs. Mostly red with five black spots on each. "Maybe I'll keep them."

* * *

Marinette Dupian-Cheng's head snapped at the low hiss in her ear. She shook her head, trying to ignore it, but she couldn't. That darn black cat was determined on making her seem crazier that she already was. She would not give in to him. She would not let the little cat like creature win.

But he floated in front of her face, blocking her view of the black board. The little black floating cat snickered at her, knowing that nobody else would, or even could, see him. Plagg, as she had come to finally and recently find him to be named, whined on and on about how he wanted cheese.

She frowned, her hand hovering over the silver ring that dangled on a simple chain around her neck. She had first seen Plagg when she picked up the object and since then had tried multiple times to rid herself of the bad luck magnet. But every time she thought she had successfully thrown it away, it magically popped back into her life. And it wasn't like getting rid of the darn thing made her stop seeing Plagg, after that first touch she never stopped seeing him. Then again, she had always seen the weirder things that everyone else claimed was just fiction.

"Marinette. Girl." The dark haired teen's best friend nudged her.

Blinking Marinette looked over at the aspiring reporter. "What it is Alya?"

"Girl, class is over. You've been glaring at the empty seat in front of you for the whole class."

"Sorry." She blushed. "I guess I had something on my mind."

Alya was the nicest person Marinette had ever known, probably because she had only known her for about a week. The girl had moved from another part of France the month before and had to transfer. But she was far nicer than anyone in her class. Especially...

"Marinette Dupian-Cheng." Chloe Bourgeois said in a mocking voice. Her hand placed against her snickering mouth, and blue eyes gleamed with malice. "Were the voices in your head tell you to kill more cats?"

"Leave me alone Chloe." Marinette frowned. She didn't feel like dealing with the blonde girl's petty insults.

Chloe Bourgeois was what some might, nicely, call a mean girl. The mayor's daughter, heiress to a five star hotel, class president, and queen bee of their school, the blonde girl had it all. Nobody messed with her, but being famous, fabulous and powerful just wasn't enough. She wanted everyone to know that she got what she wanted when she wanted it. If she wanted school to be closed for a day, her father would find a reason that the school should be shut down for the day. If she wanted the nicest person in the school picked on for something that she had no control over, then so be it.

And thus, Marinette became an outcast, with only the new girl beside her... for now. Chloe would eventually get to her too. Somehow.

"You're right!" She faked a gasp. "Why should I grace you with my presence? Besides those voices might start to tell you to kill me."

"Don't listen to her girl." Alya said to her, with a small pat to the back. "She just doesn't see how awesome you are."

"Thanks Alya." Marinette sighed. "But she's determined to make it so I don't have friends."

"I'll always be your friend Mari, no matter what."

Marinette wanted to say something, but a lump in her throat stopped her. Sure Alya was saying that now, but words wouldn't stop Chloe. Nothing would stop her. And she would tramped any one or anything that got in her way to get what she wanted. So Marinette knew that there would be a time when Alya or someone close to her got threatened. Would she really be willing to stay friends after that? Or would she give up just like everyone else?

Her blue bell eyes landed on Plagg and for a moment he looked guilty. Sure all the teasing he did to her didn't help, but it wasn't like he caused this. For as long as Marinette could remember she had been called crazy, or unwell. Plagg just followed her around and whined about food and how tired he was, when he slept twenty out of twenty-four hours a day.

"Best friends." Marinette couldn't help but to sigh again. Chloe's bullying, promises that couldn't possible be kept, and watching Plagg as he zipped into her pink purse at her hip, and it wasn't even noon yet.

It was going to be a long day.

.

Marinette watched as Plagg inhaled another piece of the world's stinkiest cheese. It had been just over three months since she first picked up the ring and he appeared in her life. For a while she had tried to question him on various things like: Why had she not seen him before picking up the ring? Why did it not matter now if she didn't have the ring? And the most important, Why did he keep following her?

She wouldn't just let him starve or shiver in the cold autumn wind. But it wasn't like he was her pet or anything. If he wasn't there in the morning when Marinette woke up, it wasn't a big deal. But at the same time, he also never strayed away for too long.

"Hey Plagg?" She asked, not looking up from her fabric covered desk. Making things had been her hobby since she was little. So her parents, while trying to encourage her, one day put a desk in her room where she could work without them disturbing her.

"Yeah?"

"When you take off, where do you go?" She pulled the needle through the pink, what would soon be a, scarf.

"Why do you ask?" She noted that he avoided answering again. He always did that with her questions. And if she said that she was just curious then his response would only be a short grumble.

"If you ever miss dinner, I'd like to know where to find you." Sure it was a bit of a stretch, but the small cat-like creature never enjoyed missing meals.

"To the sea." He mumbled in a low voice.

"The sea?" Her eyebrow quirked up, but she continued working.

"Yeah." He went back to grumbling.

That was fine though. It was more than she had ever gotten from him since she had pried his name from him. It was a start to understand the questions he wouldn't answer for her.

"Maybe next time we can go together?" She suggested lightly.

"I doubt you should be missing class." He snickered. "Not that I see why you should want to go to school everyday."

Marinette smiled. "You're right. Nobody is going to miss the crazy girl for one day. I say tomorrow we skip school and go to the ocean!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Small thanks to** Rose_doodle **(on AO3) for all the help.**_

 _ **Thanks to those who reviewed. And for those of you wondering about Marinette, I don't think I'll out right say what's wrong, but I'll try to go into more detail.**_

 _ **SK**_

 _Scar Tissue_

His finger poked lightly at the box, watching it tilt back on his coral shelve. There were no claps, nor lines to indicate that it could be opened. Just a plain black ovular object when closed. But he knew it could be opened. He had seem the earrings before closing it and taking it home. But now it didn't look like it would ever open to the beautiful jewelry ever again.

His green eyes looked at it longingly, tail swishing behind him. Human's were strange creatures and they made the strangest of things. Things that they didn't need, things that made no sense. This seemed to be one of those things. He looked at it nervously, flicking his tail. How did it work? It wasn't like he was going to wear the accessory, so why did he want to see the red shimmer again? The little black spotted earrings had filled his mind.

"Just to see them again." He poked the box again, watching it rock on the coral, and sighed somewhat dazed. "Something from the human world."

Then he froze. What had he done? He, the prince, had disobeyed his father. Well not technically. He hadn't gone up to the human world to retrieve it, it had just sort of appeared in front of him when he was longingly looking up the world he could never visit. But he had left the capital of Coral Cove to look upon the human world. Not only that, but he brought something human back with him. He brought a piece of the world his father hated and outlawed into his home without even thinking.

"Oh god." He scooped the box up into his slightly webbed fingers. His eyes darting to the closed door. He wasn't sure where his bodyguard was nor his father's personal assistant Nathalie. For all he knew they could pop in at any moment telling him his father requested his presence. His heart pounded in his chest. "What do I do? What do I do?"

For a moment, in his panic, he didn't notice the warm glow in his hands. He didn't notice the shimmer of red and orange light coming from the object below. His eyes stayed locked on the door as if nothing else matter. He couldn't even move his tail in fear that the rippling of the water would somehow let everyone know that he was there and had done something wrong.

"Hello."

He didn't move. Who said that?

"Hello?" They repeated in a sweet and chipper voice.

He stiffened, tearing his eyes away from the door. His voice was all but a whisper. "Hello?"

"Down here." The voice said from his hands. His eyes met her, a tiny red something... a something that was under the water, talking breathing, and not a fish. "Hi there."

Adrien would have screamed, but then anybody with in the castle walls would have known that something was awry. So he did the only logical thing. "Hi."

The thing looked him up and down before scanning the room with her big blue eyes. She didn't really say anything. But she floated (Floated not swam?) away from his hands. After a short, or long according to Adrien's nerves, ivestigation she (he was sure, but it sounded like a she) made her way back to him. Her black spotted head way eyes level to him as she began to speak.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." She said moving her paws out to touch his cheek, but stopping just shy when he flinched away. "But I also have one."

How was he supposed to answer her questions? "Yes?"

She looked him dead in the face. "You're a merman right? I've never seen one before."

Adrien blinked. That was her question. She had seemed so serious. "I am. And what are you?"

"I'm a kwami. I grant powers to human. Or in this case, you."

"Me?" He hoped that he didn't look as shocked as he thought he sounded. "How? Why?"

"Because the human world needs saving." She said, completely calm. "A darkness in a near by human town named HawkMoth has arisen and the human's can't save themselves. That's where we come in. We're-"

"If you haven't noticed," He interrupted. "I can't really save anyone above the water like this."

"Don't worry!" She nodded to herself. "I'm sure the transformation will fix that."

"The what?"

"I can grant you powers when you wear the Ladybug earrings. The powers of luck and healing, so you can de-evilized the akuma that HawkMoth."

"Okay." He nodded, only partially understanding what this kwami thing was saying. "But I'm not going by Ladybug."

* * *

"Marinette." Plagg whined for probably the millionth time. She knew that he wanted more cheese, but she also knew that he knew exactly were it was. He could float his lazy butt down and get some for himself. Besides, she was trying her hardest to finish her sketch.

"Come on Marinette."

"Plagg shut it!" She yelled as the door to her room opened.

Marinette's head snapped in the direction of her door. Her blue eyes fell upon her mother's, Sabine Cheng, head. Her mother's worried grey eyes looked up at her. "Having a bad day Marinette?"

"No maman." She blushed. Hands twitched over her sketch book, pencil falling into the crease.

"Are you sure dear?" Her mother asked.

"I'm fine."

"Well would you like something to eat? Your father has some left over bread." Sabine questioned her.

"I'm fine for now maman." Marinette shrugged. "I'll have some later though. Right now I want to finish the design for this dress."

"Okay." Her mother said, throwing one last worried glance at her before shutting the door and heading down.

"Geez you could have-"

"Shh!" Marinette hushed him. Her eyes not leaving the spot her mother had been a mere moment ago. "She's still listening."

"Kid?"

"I know she can hear you, but she claims she can't. If she can't then why is she still there listening?" Marinette muttered.

"Nobody's there."

"I know she's still there!" The dark haired girl pushed herself away from her desk with enough force to knock over her chair. "Her and papa are always doing this. Then they leave before I can catch them. It's not fair."

The black cat just shook his head at her screamed rambles. Every once in a while she did this, though Plagg didn't think much of it. She would calm down after a while or her mother would come in and calm her down. Which, in Plagg's eyes, only made her worse. It just proved her mother was listening, just like Marinette thought.

"Okay Plagg. i think she's gone. You can talk now." She sighed.

Plagg just looked at her with his deep green eyes. "You're one weird kid."

She eyed him before turning back to her previously abandoned work. "I've heard that before."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thanks to all those who have faved, followed, and reviewed. You're all awesome ;)_**

 ** _Chaotic_**

 _Scar Tissue_

Bluebell eyes stared at the sea. She really didn't see what was so special. Why would Plagg leave her every day to come here? In her mind, it just didn't make any sense. But this place was nice. Marinette could see why he liked to come here, even if the reason eluded her. It was calm, voices that plagued her mind washed away like the waves crashing on the sandy beach.

She wished that she had worn shorts or anything that wasn't her usual pink pants. Sure she could take off the flats she normally wore and let the cool water tickle her toes, but walking home in soggy pants wouldn't be fun. And it would make people look at her with their questioning gazes. She hated being looked at like people wanted to pry into her mind or like she was utterly insane. SHE HATED IT! And one day she would find a way to show them that she wasn't as crazy as they thought she was. There was something inhuman out there, and it didn't matter if they couldn't see it because she could. And one day they would too. She just had to find a way to make them believe.

"Uh, Plagg?" She said looking over at him. He hovered close to where the waves crashed against the golden sand. His face looked calm as the breeze rustles through his whiskers. Had he just wanted to come here to look out at the sea? She was hoping for something way more exciting than just standing here. When he didn't answer she voiced again. "Plagg?"

"Yeah." He hummed at her.

"Is this all you do here? I was expecting something... more?" She said quizzically, unsure of what exactly she had thought he did out here.

"It's the ocean, what did you expect?" He asked sharply. "It's not like I go on underwater adventures."

She glanced away from him. Maybe she did expect him to tell her that he secretly went on underwater adventures under the sea. Just coming out here to stare wasn't that fun. Although it probably would have been better if she had thought to bring her notebook. The ocean could be a rather inspiring place. The way the waves rippled as they licked at the sandy beach. The way that the golden rays of the sun gleamed off the bright blues of the vast unknown in front of her.

"Are you looking for something?" She asked without thinking. If he was coming here almost every day just to look at the ocean he had to have some reason.

"Yeah."

"A jewel or gem?" She asked quizzically.

"My wife." His voice passive, like he didn't even realize that he was answering her.

"Wife?"

"With her luck, I thought her chosen would be here, but my bad luck must be keeping her away."

"Chosen?" Marinette couldn't understand what he was saying. Suddenly nothing made sense.

He turned his gaze from the sea and frowned. "I guess there's no harm in telling you since you're my chosen. An evil has arisen and you have to fight."

"What?" She yelled at him, probably looking crazy to any onlookers. "You can't just decide that! I don't even know how to fight."

"You don't have to worry about that. My magic will help you."

"Magic?" Her bluebell eyes light up. Magic that normal people said didn't exist. Magic that could show them that they were wrong. Magic that could prove she wasn't insane like they all thought. She could show them that there was a world beyond what they all thought they knew.

She grinned widely at him. "When can I start fighting this evil?"

* * *

Adrien hated the coral city. In many ways, it was the prison that he could never escape from. Or maybe it wasn't the bright red city that he hated. No, it was probably the fact that he could never actually go to the city his father ruled over. Ther merfolk knew him to be the prince, so even if he could have slipped away from his guard it wasn't like they would treat him like just another commoner.

The only time he could truly enjoy the beauty of his homeland was when he gazed at it from afar. The red coral that they carved their home out of, on the side of a steep underwater cliff, wasn't only pretty to look at but also shielded them. The only part of their reef that was even remotely visible was the castle that he and his father lived in.

Luckily, Adrien had been able to sneak away from the castle yet again, to go to his favorite part. The shallowest part of the ocean that he dared to venture to. The sunlight could easily hit his face and made the earrings Tiki had talked him into wearing sparkle, and all he had to do was stare up to see the sky.

"Is this where you found me?" Tiki asked, her deep blue eyes looking around.

"Yeah." He nodded. His green eyes only gazing up.

"Do you want to go up there?"

He waited a moment before shaking his head at her. "It's forbidden to leave the water."

"You already agreed to be my Ladybug and save the humans from HawkMoth."

"Lucky Beetle." He corrected. Ladybug sounded too girly for him. "

"How can you have the humans when you won't leave the water."

"I'll find a way." He hummed softly.

Tiki looked around, making sure nobody was around to see them. "Don't you think it would look cool if you had spots on your tail?"

He flicked his tail, turning to her with confusion written all over his face. "Spots on my tail? What?"

She smiled deviously as she zipped into his earrings in a spiral of red magic. Sure it was an awful thing to do, tricking him like that, but she was sure it would be fine. Besides, how could he save the human's from the evil HawkMoth when he refused to disobey his father's command and leave his home. Even if she had to force it on him, Adrien would be free of this tight hold his father had on him.

"Tiki!" He yelled as the magic swirled around him, engulfing him. At first, it was just a warm feeling, but once the magic covered his face, he felt as if he could no longer breathe.

He thrashed, trying his best to do something, though he wasn't sure what. Was this how he was going to die? That would be pretty ironic for a merman to drown. So he flailed his arms, but his whole body froze once one of his arms broke the water's surface.

He had disobeyed his father. He had broken the number one rule, even if he hadn't meant to. But he didn't know what else to do.

After a moment, he forced his head above the water, gasping loudly at his first real breath of air. His green eyes looked over to the beach. For the first time in his life, he realized how close he was to the human's that he had longed to be a part of. Though the water wasn't shallow enough for him to stand in, it wasn't so deep that he would be fully submerged.

A part of him wanted to go back. Wanted to force himself under the water, even knowing the burn his lungs would feel from not having the air he needed. But he had already disobeyed his father so much just by breaching the surface world. It would be too much to actually walk on the land that the humans resided on.

Swimming a bit closer was harder than he thought without his tail, but he managed. By the time he got close enough to the shore to be able to sit in the ocean without drowning his legs were exhausted. But in the moment that his legs give out and he falls to the liquid with a splash, he finally feels everything he had missed. The light of the sun, beating down and warming his skin. The cool salty breeze licking at his skin and drying his damp golden hair.

Then it hits him...

"Tiki?" He called, green eyes skimming the horizon and glancing at the beach.

She didn't seem to be there. The only thing that resembled her was the tight, perhaps too tight, one-piece, red and black spotted, suit that he wore.

"Tiki." He called again, forcing himself up on unsteady legs.

One step towards the beach.

Two steps away.

Three steps to.

One step away.

He wanted to, but his father. Though it really didn't matter anymore. He didn't know how to get home when his gills were gone.

Not knowing what to do, he brushed his hair from his face and looked up at the clear sky. "Now what?"


End file.
